Activity Up 131 Percent From September 2006; Foreclosure Rate in Top 10

IRVINE, Calif. – Oct. 26, 2007 – Ohio reported 15,709 foreclosure filings in September, the third highest total in the nation. Foreclosure activity declined 12 percent from the previous month, but was up 131 percent from September 2006, according to the latest RealtyTrac® U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. The state posted the seventh highest foreclosure rate in the nation — one foreclosure filing for every 319 households — 1.8 times the national average.

RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of foreclosure and bank-owned properties, with over 1 million properties from nearly 2,500 counties across the country, and is the foreclosure data provider to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and The Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal.

“Foreclosure activity in Ohio backed off a bit in September, coming off the highest level of activity we have measured in the state so far this year in August,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “The good news is that unemployment came down for most of the state in August, although it remains significantly above the national average. Still, this may at least partially explain why foreclosure activity eased up slightly in September since foreclosures are a lagging indicator of economic activity.”

Although the BuckeyeState’s activity level in September was the second highest reported so far this year, it was well behind national leader California, which reported 51,259 foreclosure filings for the month. The state also trailed second place Florida by more than 17,600 foreclosure filings. Texas and Michigan reported the fourth and fifth highest totals in the nation respectively, each with more than 14,000 foreclosure filings for the month. Georgia came in sixth highest with almost 12,000 filings entering the foreclosure pipeline. The remaining states in the nation’s top 10 for total foreclosure filings in September were Illinois, Arizona, Colorado and Nevada.

CuyahogaCounty dominates in foreclosure total and rate for September

CuyahogaCounty posted the highest county foreclosure total and foreclosure rate in the state for September. The county reported 4,771 foreclosure filings, a rate of one foreclosure filing for every 130 households — 2.5 times the state average and 4.3 times the national average.

FranklinCounty came in with the second highest, 1,958 foreclosure filings for the month. Third highest total and rate were reported by MontgomeryCounty, with 1,373 foreclosure filings, a foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 185 households — 1.7 times the state average and three times the national average.

HamiltonCounty had the fourth highest total, reporting 1,353 foreclosure filings, and LucasCounty came in fifth place, with 903 filings entering some stage of the foreclosure pipeline.

LorainCounty posted the state’s second highest foreclosure rate, one foreclosure filing for every 180 households — 1.8 times the state average and 3.1 times the national average. Fourth highest rate in the state was posted by LucasCounty, with one foreclosure filing for every 224 households, followed by RichlandCounty with one foreclosure filing for every 236 households.

State a major contributor to nation’s monthly total

Total filings in Ohio accounted for 7 percent of the 223,538 foreclosure filings reported nationwide in September. The national total represents an 8 percent decrease from the previous month, but is still 99 percent above the total reported for September 2006. The nation’s foreclosure rate decreased to one foreclosure filing for every 557 U.S. households for the month.

The RealtyTrac Monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides the total number of foreclosure filings — both nationwide and by state — over the preceding month. RealtyTrac’s report includes properties in all three phases of foreclosure: Defaults — Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auctions — Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank).

For current news and information regarding foreclosure-related issues and trends, check out our blog at www.ForeclosurePulse.com.

Ranked as the third largest real estate site by MediaMetrix, and No. 53 on Inc. magazine’s 2006 Inc. 500 list of the nation’s fastest growing private companies, RealtyTrac Inc. (www.realtytrac.com), is the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, providing all the resources that home seekers, investors and real estate agents need to locate, evaluate and buy properties below market value.

Founded in 1996, RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of pre-foreclosure, foreclosure, For Sale By Owner, resale and new homes, with more than 1.3 million properties across the country, property reports, productivity tools and extensive professional resources. RealtyTrac hosts nearly 3 million unique visitors monthly and has been chosen to supply foreclosure data to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and the Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal. For more information, visit (www.realtytrac.com).

About RealtyTrac

RealtyTrac® is the leading provider of comprehensive housing data and analytics for the real estate and financial services industries, Federal, state and local governments, academic institutions, and the media. Data is aggregated from parcel-level records of more than 125 million U.S. residential and commercial properties and delivered through customizable products including bulk file licensing, APIs and custom reports.